I have something important to admit. I very rarely ask for help.

Don’t be this person

What does this mean?  It means I ask for help in some ways, like for clarification, figuring out answers, and things along those lines. In fact, when it comes to clarifying instructions, I tend to like to clarify to extremes. However, I very rarely ask for help outside of those very specific areas. I don’t like asking for extensions or even just letting others know that I am not necessarily dealing with everything very well and I might just need some help.  I generally believe that I should be able to handle everything that is wanted from me, and even if I probably cannot and probably should not, I will try anything to comply.

I have finally got it through my head that it is in fact okay to ask for help. It is okay to say that you might need a little bit of a hand, and there is an amazing thing that happens when you ask for help.

It’s important to remember that people want to help you. Whether it’s asking a simple clarifying question, or explanation of directions or even admitting that you cannot do everything yourself, professors, staff at Scripps, even your (future or current ) managers want to help you, all you have to do is ask.

For me, asking for help gets tangled up in this idea of failure. It’s the sense that because I could not finish everything myself, I am admitting defeat. That is just false.  Asking for help is not directly related to failure. The only time it is a failure, is if you never try in the first place.  Asking for help is beneficial, and what you are trying to get done is probably going to get done better.

Sometimes we all get in sticky situations

As we move into adulthood it feels like as adults we should just have it together. On the other side of things, after talking to many of the adults in my life, I realize they do not really know what they are doing either. Sure, they may have one piece of the puzzle or the answers. But the way you get through life is by asking questions and asking for help from the people holding the other puzzles pieces. I am finally learning that it takes people really working with one another to solve problems.

As I have found out this week, asking for help is not terrible. In fact, it will actually help a lot.